System and method for flushing castings
View Patent ↗A method for cleaning a component comprises a first stage including the steps of: (i) loading a component into the cleaning chamber of a flush station, (ii) directing a deionized water stream through first filter means, (iii) introducing carbon dioxide into the filtered water stream, (iv) directing the carbonated water stream into a fluid passage to be cleaned in the component, and (v) collecting the dirty water stream after it passes through the component and directing the collected dirty water stream through second filter means for reuse. The method can further include a second stage including the steps of: (vi) loading the component into a testing chamber of a testing station, (vii) directing a deionized water stream through third filter means, (viii) directing the filtered water stream into the fluid passage in the component, and (ix) collecting the water stream after it passes through the component and directing the collected water stream into a particle counter.
1. A method for removing residual material from, and thereby cleaning, an internal passage of a workpiece, comprising the step of passing carbonated water through the passage to flush residual material from the passage in the workpiece, where the workpiece is a metal casting.
2. A method as set forth in claim 1 , where the step of passing carbonated water through the passage in the workpiece includes passing carbonated, deionized water through the passage in the workpiece.
3. A method as set forth in claim 1 , comprising the step of introducing carbon dioxide into water to form carbonated water.
4. A method as set forth in claim 3 , comprising the step of passing the water through a first filter before the introducing step, where the water includes deionized water.
5. A method as set forth in claim 1 , comprising the step of collecting the carbonated water after it passes through the workpiece.
6. A method as set forth in claim 5 , comprising the step of passing the collected carbonated water through a second filter.
7. A method as set forth in claim 6 , comprising the step of reusing the filtered collected carbonated water.
8. A method of testing the cleanliness of an internal passage of a workpiece, comprising the following steps:
cleaning the passage using the method of claim 1 ;
passing carbonated water through the passage in the workpiece after the cleaning step;
collecting the carbonated water after it passes through the workpiece; and
removing carbon dioxide from the collected carbonated water, and then passing the collected water from which the carbon dioxide has been removed through a particle detector which provides an indication of whether particles of a size greater than a predetermined size are present in the collected water.
9. A method as set forth in claim 1 , comprising the step of loading a workpiece into a cleaning station and then a testing station.
10. A method as set forth in claim 9 , where the steps of passing carbonated water through the passage in the workpiece after the cleaning step, collecting the carbonated water, and removing the carbon dioxide and passing the collected water through a particle detector continue until no particles greater than a predetermined size are detected in the predetermined volume.
11. A method as set forth in claim 1 , where the passing step occurs for a predetermined period.
12. A method as set forth in claim 1 , comprising the step of flushing the passage with deionized water or reverse-osmosis water before the step of passing carbonated water through the passage.